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Honduras

When Manuel Zelaya was sworn in as Honduran President in 2006, he promised he would bring an end to the illegal logging that ravaged the country. En savoir plus

A Global Witness investigation uncovered that just a few months later the state forest authority effectively legalised mahogany that had been illegally logged in Río Plátano, the country’s largest protected area, as part of a plan to launder ‘abandoned’ timber. As a result, timber traffickers made up to US$1 million.

Honduras is the third poorest country in Latin America. Its forests cover nearly half the country and are a hotbed of corruption and crime. Criminal activity in Honduras’ forests is stripping the country of its natural wealth, deepening poverty in rural areas, and causing violent social unrest, as forest communities are pitted against timber gangs.

These organisations create a platform for all actors, including indigenous groups who have a stake in Honduras’ forests, to air their concerns around illegal logging. Through this programme it is hoped that the Honduran government starts taking steps towards recognising local peoples’ rights to their forest.